5:51pm

WVAS Local

WVAS Local News

By MelanieHogan

A former prison supervisor was sentenced to 30 years in prison for fatally beating an inmate. Federal Judge Myron Thompson imposed the sentence Monday for former lieutenant Michael Smith for the August 2010 death of Rocrast Mack. Three former prison employees got lesser sentences for participating in hitting Mack or covering up what happened. The other defendants report to prison January 6th.

Prisoner Dies

Authorities say a man convicted of murdering his parents in Montgomery almost nine years ago committed suicide in prison. Jefferson County deputy coroner Bill Yates says that Brent Springford Jr. died of an overdose of Tylenol. Officers found Springford unresponsive in his cell at Donaldson prison, he was pronounced dead at a hospital in Birmingham on Oct. 6th. The 37-year-old Springford was convicted of killing parents Brent and Charlotte Springford in their home in Montgomery on Thanksgiving day 2004. He was serving a life sentence.

Bipartisan Panel

The 29 members of a bipartisan congressional panel began meeting last week to forge a plan to stave off another government shutdown in January. The meeting got off to a bumpy start when Democratic leaders declared there would be no deal without new revenue and Republicans responded with predictions of a stalemate if taxes become the issue. Retired Associate Political Science Professor for AUM Dr. Brad Moody says recent polls suggest that neither side can claim the high ground. One goal of the committee is to offset the sequester cuts of about $100 billion dollars a year. The panel has a December 13th deadline.